Lift trucks are often used to lift and carry carpet rolled onto solid paper cores. Such lift trucks include carriage assemblies equipped with a carpet pole that is inserted into the core in order to engage and lift the rolled carpet.
In the past, the carpet pole has been mounted to the carriage assembly is such a way as to cause uneven clamping of the carpet pole, as well as excessive stress and premature failure of the bolting system. Further in many instances, the distal end of the carpet pole becomes jammed in the socket in which it is held and thus very difficult to remove.
In addition, past carriage assemblies have not been designed to accommodate the paper core on which the carpet is rolled. More specifically, the end of the core often projects outwardly beyond the end of the rolled carpet. As the carpet is engaged for lifting, the carriage assembly often engages the projecting end of the core resulting in damage to core.
The present invention addresses and solves these problems.